As a groomer, I would say yes it's worth the extra money for what a shedless treatment does! I mostly deshed any dog that comes in anyway who needs it, but I offer a shedless treatment for an extra charge. This includes a shedless shampoo that sits on the dog for 10 minutes, to help treat the skin and coat and helps to release more of the undercoat. I will also spend more time brushing out the dog, if needed.

I put the dog right in the bath and after lathering the dog up with the first shampoo I brush through the coat. Rinse, then I put the shedless shampoo on, and brush through for the entire 10 minute duration. Rinse again, then I use the high velocity dryer which blasts any loose undercoat right out. Also the water pressure on the setting I use will get clumps of hair out too! It makes a HUGE difference. After the dog is dry I go through their coat again with a slicker brush and comb to make sure nothing else is going to come out.

I spend a lot of extra time for the shedless treatment, which is why I charge more for it. I believe it makes a difference and is worth it.

Also if the dog comes in and is visibly shedding (tufts sticking out everywhere) I will blast them with the HV dryer before the bath, to get the hair out before hand.

I'm a groomer, and since it's a service it is polite to tip, especially good groomers! Good groomers try their best to make your dog feel comfortable and the groom stress-free. It's a lot of hard work sometimes. Also it's very much appreciated when the owner gives a bigger tip if their dog was very matted, has behaviour problems, etc.

That being said, I don't see a lot of tips. I think a lot of groomers don't get tipped because people don't realize they can, or don't think they should. I work out of an animal hospital, and since I'm there and people going there don't tip for any of the other services there, they don't think me, the groomer, should be tipped. Since April I've only had maybe 6 people give me a tip, which I've been very grateful about, even if it's just an extra $2.

So if you really want to make your groomer's day, give them a tip! Tip what you think they deserve.

As a groomer, I trim around every dog's butt area. I just clip the hair around the rectum as much as I think I need to and skim in a straight line downward, so nothing that falls gets stuck in the hair. So yes, it's completely a good idea to trim the hair in that area! Keeps things nice and clean and will make things easier for you and your dog. Trim it as you need to, but of course be careful in that area.

Toto, I've heard that too, that you don't tip the owner. I don't get it! I think they think since the owner runs the business they make so much money and all the money from grooming dogs goes straight into their pocket. As if! Don't they understand there are bills to pay, and if you have employees, they need to be paid too?

I run my own shop and am the only one working there, and most of my clients have at least given me something as a tip, but I think there are a few who think that all that money I get from grooming their dog is income for me. They don't realize that I have to groom so many dogs before I can pay my rent for the month, then there's hydro, phone, supplies, etc to be paid on top of that!

I know this thread is from 2010, but I felt like giving my imput as well!

As a groomer, I know there are different tools for different coat types... Some people try to use the Furminator on EVERYTHING. It doesn't work that way. I find it works best on short coat. If the coat is too long it will start to break the overcoat, which isn't what it's meant to do. It's meant to be used to remove loose undercoat. That being said, YES, you CAN overuse it. If you keep using it it will start to pull out/break off the rest of the coat. I find it silly when uneducated people buy one and use it too much, then complain that their dog developed a rash because of the tool. It's because they were using it wrong, really.

I used one yesterday on a female Husky who was blowing her coat. She doesn't have a lot of coat yet, but she was blowing out all her undercoat. After using the HV dryer on her and after her bath, I brushed through her coat with as slicker then used the furminator on her. It did great to get the remainder of loose hair off, and it wasn't breaking her outer coat, so it worked great in that situation.

But I would NOT use it on a dog like a Sheltie like mine, because it's just going to break the harsh outer coat and make the dog look horrible. I know some of the furminators say for long coat or for short coat, honestly I have the "long coat" one and I use it just fine on short coated dogs. I Don't think they are really different, I think it's just the company trying to sell more. I wouldn't use one at all on a long coat.

To remove undercoat from longer coats, I would first use the slicker to untangle the hair and get most of the loose undercoat out. Then I would use a rake tool, this works great on my Sheltie, and that's the way longer coats are meant to be treated. I also find using a plain comb does a pretty good job of removing loose undercoat as well.

The Furminator is essentially one half of a 40 blade. It is the same deal as carding a coat, except they made it into it's own tool with a handle to make it easier to do. Carding was only meant to be done on certain coat types, so keep that in mind.

I don't know much about flat coated poms, but I assume that if the coat was shaved it would have all the same issues as shaving any other double coated breed. It's just the way the hair grows back on those coat types. When you clip off the hair, you remove the harsh outer coat, and the undercoat grows in faster, so for a long time you just have soft fuzz on the dog. On some dogs the outer coat never grows in properly at all, so you end up with a dog looking really patchy. I don't think it matters if the dog has an off standing coat or a flat coat.

I'm the same as Toto, I was taught to use skip tooth blades for pre-work, and finish blades afterwards. Exactly what Toto said, I find it easier to remove the bulk of the coat quickly before the bath, and then I use the finish blade after drying to make the cut look smoother. I've never had a problem with skip tooth blades nicking a dog, but I am very careful with what I do, and have seen others nick a dog with them. You really have to be careful near skin folds, the hock area, ears, etc, but groomers should be careful people. I also know of people who don't even use them, I guess it's all about preference.

Bandit, I had never heard of that before! I know that I can look on some black nails underneath and there's an indicator or where to clip, but sometimes it's hard to see. The next time I get a dog in with black nails that I'm not sure of I think I'll try doing them right after the bath and letting them soak a bit. Thanks for the tip!

Me personally, I wouldn't clip the entire dog. I would just leave it, and maybe blend the edges of the clipped areas so it doesn't look so obvious, like Toto has said. I don't like clipping double coated dogs, so I avoid it at all costs, so I think it's better to deal with a few holes than the entire coat being gone.

Currently my dog has a patch of hair clipped from being at the vet as well. It's on his front leg though, and the hair on his collar covers it, so it's not as obvious if you're looking down at him, but it's pretty obvious when you see it. Still, I'd rather look at that then have his entire leg shaved.

Another thing that helps the quick recede is walking on hard surfaces a lot, like the sidewalk. I'm also a groomer, and I see many dogs where I don't even have to touch their nails because they are worn down from walking a lot. I'm not sure if it's as effective on small dogs though, since they aren't putting as much weight on the nails when they walk, but it's something worth noting. Other than that, I'm not sure what you can really do that is different than what you are already doing. I clip the ends of my dog's nails once a week to keep them really short, but it sounds like the quick on your dog just isn't wanting to recede as easily.